This invention pertains to a mounting bracket system for installing a shelving accessory, such as a drawer or a flipper door, in a cabinet assembly.
Many storage cabinets and shelf frameworks include a rectangular frame structure having a pair of front corner posts and a pair of rear corner posts. Each corner post is typically formed with a surface having vertical rows of equally spaced, attachment openings for attaching shelves at various elevations. The posts are also designed to support a shelving accessory, such as a drawer or flipper door, which is typically secured by a slide mechanism or other support member to a pair of mounting bracket structures interconnected to the corner posts using the attachment openings. Each mounting bracket structure extends the full depth of the cabinet between the front and rear corner posts on one side of the cabinet.
The provision of such mounting bracket structure is intended to permit not only a simple initial installation, but also a relatively easy and quick conversion of one shelving accessory for another without dismantling the file cabinet. For example, it is desirable to be able to easily install or convert drawer and door sizes and types within a single file cabinet. While the known prior art aims for this objective, the desired installation or conversion is complicated by difficulty in installing the mounting bracket structure due to the fact that its length is greater than the front-to-rear spacing between the corner posts. Further, because prior art mounting brackets extend the full depth of the cabinet between corner posts, such brackets require a significant amount of material to manufacture, and also require a certain bracket length for each cabinet depth.
Accordingly, it remains desirable to provide a mounting bracket system which will effectively adapt various shelving accessories within a file cabinet with a minimum of parts and effort. It is also desirable to provide a shelf accessory conversion system which does not require connectors such as bolts and nuts for installation. It is further desirable to provide a shelf accessory support device which is positively locked in place in one installed location and is easily released for rapid movement to another installed location.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting bracket system which will permit the use of different shelving accessories within a storage cabinet. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a mounting bracket system which can easily be adapted to the spacing of attachment openings formed on the corner posts in a storage cabinet. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shelf accessory mounting bracket which can be readily installed on the corner structure of a cabinet without the use of bolts, nuts and special tools. Another object of the present invention is to provide a shelf accessory mounting bracket which can be easily repositioned following initial installation. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer and flipper door mounting bracket system in which the same components can be used for cabinets having varying depths, and which can be readily installed by a relatively unskilled person using hand force. Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet mounting bracket system which is relatively simple in design and construction, yet extremely sturdy and reliable even under varying load.
In one aspect of the invention, a mounting bracket system is provided for use in installing a shelving accessory within a cabinet having interior corner structure provided with a vertical row of spaced apart openings. The mounting bracket system includes a pair of separate mounting brackets, each of which is adapted for connection to one of the interior corner structures. Each mounting bracket includes a planar side wall adapted to be releasably connected to the shelving accessory, and an end wall lying substantially perpendicular to the side wall and provided with self-contained, fixed fastener structure which is constructed and arranged for immediate matching alignment with the openings and for selective sliding and locking engagement with the walls forming the openings. The fastener structure includes a pair of spaced rivets projecting from an outer surface of the end wall. The end wall is formed with a hole lying between the pair of spaced rivets. The fastener structure further includes a spring-biased locking device having a member projecting through the hole. The locking device is positioned on an inner surface of the end wall and, in one embodiment, is comprised of a plate spring anchored to one of the rivets. In another embodiment, the locking device is comprised of a retractable spring-loaded pin arrangement having an end extending through the side wall. The end wall is formed with a sight hole for observing the positioning of the fastener structure relative to the openings on the interior corner structure. A second end wall spaced from and parallel to the first-mentioned end wall lies perpendicular to the side wall. The second end wall is provided with an opening or window through which the locking device is accessed. A reinforcing intermediate wall lies perpendicular to the side wall between the first-mentioned end wall and the second end wall. The side wall includes structure for fastening a drawer interlock mechanism thereto. The side wall is also provided with window through which the locking device is accessed. The shelf accessory may be either a slide mechanism operably connected to a drawer, or a receding door movable between a vertical, operative position and a horizontal, stored position.
In another aspect of the invention, a mounting bracket is provided for installing a shelving accessory within a cabinet having a pair of front and rear corner posts on opposed sides of the cabinet. Each of the pair of corner posts has facing surfaces formed with aligned openings, which may be in the form of keyholes. The mounting bracket system includes a pair of separate mounting brackets disposed one on each side of the cabinet. One of the mounting brackets is selectively mounted on a front corner post and the other mounting bracket is selectively mounted on a rear corner post. Each of the mounting brackets has a planar side wall operably connectable to the shelving accessory. A first end wall extends generally perpendicular to the side wall and has an outer surface engageable with a facing surface of one of the corner posts. A second end wall is spaced from and lies parallel to the first end wall. A pair of rivets is fixed to the first end wall and are spaced apart a predetermined distance matching the spacing between two of the keyholes. Each of the rivets has a head and neck structure projecting from the outer surface of the end wall, and the head and neck structure is received in an upper portion of the keyhole and slidable into a lower portion of the keyhole. A spring-biased locking device is secured to an inner surface of the first end wall and has a member protruding therethrough and located between the rivets for preventing dislodging of the mounting bracket relative to its respective corner post.
The invention further contemplates a method for installing a mounting bracket system used to support a shelving accessory within a cabinet having, on opposed sides thereof, front and rear corner structure defining facing surfaces, each of which has a vertical row of spaced openings. The method comprises the steps of providing a pair of mounting brackets on each side of the cabinet, one of the mounting brackets being adapted for engagement with a front corner structure and the other of the mounting brackets being adapted for engagement with a rear corner structure. Each of the mounting brackets has a side wall adapted to be releasably secured to the shelving accessory, and an end wall lying substantially perpendicular to the side wall. The end wall is provided with a pair of rivets projecting outwardly therefrom and a spring-biased locking device has a member projecting through the end wall. The rivets and locking device are adapted to be positioned in matching alignment with at least two of the openings. The method further includes applying a lateral force to each of the mounting brackets so as to engage its end wall against one of the facing surfaces and move each of the rivets into an upper portion of an opening, and applying a vertical force to the mounting bracket so as to slide each of the rivets into a lower portion of the opening and cause engagement of the locking device member within an opening, to separately engage each mounting bracket with the front and rear corner structures. The method further includes fixing the shelving accessory to the side wall of each of the mounting brackets, and to the side walls of each of a pair of mounting brackets similarly installed on front and rear corner structure on the opposite side of the cabinet.
The invention also contemplates one of the mounting bracket and the interior corner structure being provided with a rivet arrangement constructed and prearranged for immediate matching alignment and suspended engagement with attachment openings in the other of the mounting bracket and the interior corner structure.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.